Broken Sibling Link?

What causes this?
My Comp has been acting funny lately. So last night I ran the Disk utility off of my install disk and it found a broken sibling link that it could not fix. I ran DiskWarrior and that seems to have fixed it as my comp is running beautifully at the moment, but I would still like to know what caused this and if there is anything I can do to prevent it in the future.
Thanks.

I should add that this was on my old 12inch iBook G4, not my intel macs.
1.2ghz ppc
768mb ram
30gig drive
10.4.8

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Time Machine Backup on External Drive Invalid sibling link

I've used time machine to backup macbook air for several months. From Feb 2011 without any problems until about 2 months ago. I started to get the message that backups could not be started.
I realized that the disk would not mount right away. And after about 10 minutes or more I would get the message that my disk could not be mounted. The error said my data could be backed up and I should do it right away.
Okay, so I try to copy my backup files using finder and get an error saying I don't have permissions to copy data.
My research indicates my hard drive is failing, which is unfortunate, since I bought it within the last year :-(
Okay, so now I am trying to get my months worth of backups off the drive and this is proving to be quite difficult...actually, impossible.
Here are my latest attempts at resolving my issue:
1. Ran Repair Disk - reusts:
          error: Could not repair disk and something about backing up my data and reformating the disk
2. Ran fsck_hfs -f command in terminal
     The system indicated it was executing the command and about 2 or 3 minutes, I think the command prompt appeared. No other message
3. Run repair disk again - My results:
     Checking catalog file.
     INvalid sibling link
     rebuilding catalog B-Tree
     The volume My Passport could not be repaired
     Volume repair complete
     Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required
     Error: Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backed up files
4. Created a new partition on another external drive and did a restore in Disk Utility from the broken drive to the new partition on the other drive. Took a few hours. Unfortunately, I just created the same problem on that partition (invalid sibling link)
Any other ideas on how I can rescue my backup data from the My Passport drive? I can see it in finder but I can't copy it do my other drive!
Research on forums and other sites have mentioned cloning the drive using "dd" command. Is this the same as the disk utility restore?
Is there some way I can change the permissions of the disk/partitition/files to enable me to copy the data to the new external drive?
Here is what the system looks like: Mac HD is my mac mini; My book is the WD 1TB external drive usb connected; My Passport is the broken external drive with the time machine backups that I can't get access to.
unknown3c07544bc705:Volumes oshunj$ ls -ale
total 8
drwxrwxrwt@ 5 root    admin   170 Dec 4 09:40 .
0: group:everyone deny add_file,add_subdirectory,directory_inherit,only_inherit
drwxr-xr-x 29 root    wheel 1054 Dec 3 18:17 ..
lrwxr-xr-x   1 root    admin     1 Dec 3 18:10 Macintosh HD -> /
drwxr-xr-x@ 15 oshunj staff   578 Dec 3 20:46 My Book
drwxr-xr-x@ 14 oshunj staff   544 Oct 16 19:32 My Passport
unknown3c07544bc705:Volumes oshunj$ ls -Orbitlake /Volumes
total 4
     2 drwxr-xr-x@ 14 oshunj staff -       544 Oct 16 19:32 My Passport
335990 lrwxr-xr-x   1 root    admin -         1 Dec 3 18:10 Macintosh HD -> /
     2 drwxr-xr-x 29 root    wheel -      1054 Dec 3 18:17 ..
     2 drwxr-xr-x@ 15 oshunj staff -       578 Dec 3 20:46 My Book
10710 drwxrwxrwt@ 5 root    admin hidden 170 Dec 4 09:40 .
0: group:everyone deny add_file,add_subdirectory,directory_inherit,only_inherit

***Update to ask question***
I would love to setup my new mini like my MBA. Is there anything wrong with restoring my entire drive, I think it starts at /User/ level, to my mini????
You know you never know when you will need the backups. This makes me angry especially since I can see the files but can't repair the disk.
OTOH, I attempted something I just now read about, option-click on time machine icon. Funny thing, I selected other disk and my passport (original broken drive) popped up with time machine backups on it.
I, quite timidly, selected the disk, opened the time machine and traversed my broken drive with backups from feb.
hmmm. I then, selected some random pdf file to restore and behold, It was restored to my mac mini right before my eyes.
I'm confused. But I think I will go with your suggestion and just put the drive away in a closet somewhere and hope to never really need it. It is quite interesting though that I am unable to repair this disk but I can restore files from it....Odd, I tell you, odd....
Thanks

Invalid sibling link, what's the CAUSE?

I bought my MBA on August 2012. I've seen a million threads of people reporting about those invalid sibling link errors. I started having this error last week. I did not exaclty find a fix, but, what I did was installing the OSX inside my external hard drive, booted into it, backed up my files, and finally, I just erased my Macintosh HD(aparently erasing the HD fix the error). After that I just restored my hard drive into my MacHD. To be sure, after completely erasing the Macintosh HD using Disk Utility, I verified my disk, and everything showed to be fine. Until then, everything is ok, got my MBA working as well. 2 days after, I got the same error. So my question is, what is causing this?? I was able to fix it but it came back again why?
I forgot to mention that I restored all my user setting after everything was done. I copied my <user> folder to the Users folder and created an user with the same name as the folder I just copied. Maybe some broken files came inside it? I don't know.
I'm erasing my HD again. I hope not have to erase everything again, is there anyway to prevent causing this???

Your search for a sole underlying cause of directory corruption is not likely to be rewarding, but the solution almost always requires replacing broken hardware.
... I was able to fix it but it came back again why?
No software, including Disk Utility, can permanently repair broken hardware, so your experience is not surprising.
Confirm that you are not running any third party "optimizing" or "cleanup" software or ill-conceived "anti-virus" utilities. Such junk may be responsible for the problem you cite.
Contact AppleCare and explain the problem. If you purchased it in August of last year it may be on the cusp of its warranty expiration, so don't wait. If your MBA is no longer covered under AppleCare, consider purchasing a replacement from OWC:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Aura_Pro_Air_2012
It's likely to be much less expensive than having Apple fix it.

Start-Up: Folder with gray question mark / Disk Utility: Invalid Sibling Link

Yesterday, I was working on my computer and it froze up. My only option was to reboot by holding down the power key. When the computer restarted, the screen was all grey with a folder in the middle of the screen with a question mark.
I tried the following:
1) Boot up computer while holding down the "Option" key. - Didn't work.
2) Boot up the computer while holding down the "Shift" key. - Didn't work.
Since the first two options didn't work I inserted the original system install disk and booted up while holding down the "C" key. I selected "English" as the language and then opened "Disk Utilities." I pressed "Repair disk" within First Aid. The message I am getting is as follows:
"First Aid failed. Disk Utility stopped repairing "Macintosh HD" because the following error was encountered: Filesystem verify or repair failed."
The details screen shows the following:
"Verify and repair volume "Macintosh HD"
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid sibling link.
Rebuilding Catalog B-tree.
The volume could not be repaired.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed."
I ran the "Repair disk" function about 6 times but it was not successful.
I was then going to try to do an "Archive and Install" from the original system disk but when I go to do that no destination options appear at the "Select Destination: Where do you want to install Mac OS X?"
I have not backed up my data very recently (and a lot of what I have stored on this computer is work - I am a freelance designer) so I would like to do something that at least allows me to transfer my data off of my hard drive before reformatting or anything like that. Of course, if there is a less intrusive fix that can leave my hard drive in tact, that would be ideal.
Any advice? Tips? Solutions? I have a MacBook Pro, 15" that I purchased 3 years ago (my 3 year Apple Care plan just expired about a month ago).

You are in a tough situation. The disk appears unusable according to Disk Utility. As was suggested you may (only may) be able to salvage it with Disk Warrior (not sure about Data Rescue). DW can sometimes recover a drive that DU can't. But nothing else can be suggested.
If you can get that disk recovered then back it up ASAP, wipe the disk, reinitialize it, and verify it. But I'm the paranoid type, and with the kind of errors you show for that disk, I am not sure I would ever trust it again. At most I would relegate it to a scratch disk.
Note, if it is a drive that you bought, most drives have a 3 to 5 year warrantee period, so you could get it replaced by the manufacturer if it is within that warrantee period.

My external hard drive won't mount and shows a 'sibling link error'. I've seached the forums but need a very dumbed down set of tips for the computer illiterate- help?

The forums have suggestions on this topic but I don't understand the lingo used.

Remember card catalogs in libraries? The computer has its own card catalog that tells it where all the files are. That's known as the directory.
Sibling link error indicates something is wrong with one of the cards, making the computer lost. Now the computer will put forth a bunch of gobbledy gook to fix this error, but you can do it.
Since the issue is with the external hard disk, you must select it with Disk Utility's First Aid selected. There you will repair the disk. If it can't repair the disk, you will need to use a more powerful tool. The question is, is your data backed up elsewhere, or is it not? If it is not, the same symptoms of a bad directory can also implicate a dying hard drive. You'll want a data recovery tool if you aren't backed up. If you are backed up, and there is nothing that can't be replaced on that external hard drive, get Alsoft Disk Warrior. This should fix most bad sibling link errors repair disk can't. When it can't, you can give up on the external hard disk.
P.S. Permissions has NOTHING to do with the directory. Do not worry about issues with permissions or attempting to repair it at this stage.

My external hard drive will not open and only shows up in Disk Utilities. When I try yo repair it, it give me and error of invalid sibling link. How do I fix my external hard drive?

My external hard drive will not open and only shows up in Disk Utilities. When I try yo repair it, it give me and error of invalid sibling link. How do I fix my external hard drive?

Invalid sibling link may not be fixable by Disk Utility. (Disk Utility is very conservative, and will not attempt repairs that might cause you to lose data.)
It is an indication of serious Directory damage.
that leaves
a) third-party Utilities that will take those risks, or
b) re-initializing the drive (which deletes all your data) and restoring from another backup source.
c) "Copying off whatever files you can salvage" has gone by, and you cannot copy anything off a drive that will not mount. You may be able to use "rescue" programs such as prosoft engineering Data Rescue to copy files to another drive, but that sounds a lot better than its reality. You may get many files, but not get ANY filenames.

Invalid sibling link error

I have a 15" PB which gave an "invalid sibling link error" one month ago and I was not able to even repair it using DiskWarrior. I have Apple Care Protection plan, so I sent it for repairs and the repair guys replaced the motherboard as they suspected it was the reason. On return, I reformatted the HD and installed everything from stratch. Everything was working fine till last Saturday morning, when computer would not boot up. So I checked using Disk Utility from PB DVD, and the dreaded "invalid sibling error" came up again. Since I have a bootable backup of the HD, I formatted the HD and tried to load the system on the HD from the backup copy. But the writing of backup using CCC hung up and I had to quit it. After that I was not able to find the HD using Disk Utility from DVD.
I have sent it for repairs again, but can anyone help me understand the core problem here. Since last time they replaced the motherboard, I think they will replace the HD this time around. Is the logic board, motherboard or the HD that is the root cause of the problem?
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7) 100GB HDD, 1.5GB RAM

I had never heard of "invalid sibling link error" until you post, and when I ran a search on it the best explanation I could find is that it is a directory-related problem. See the following (assuming it is correct): http://www.computing.net/mac/wwwboard/forum/2584.html The suggestion there, though, is that DIsk Warrior should be able to fix the problem, and you've already told us that you tried using Disk Warrior on it and it did not work.
Very puzzling. Please post back what happens when you get your PB back from being repaired.
Good luck.
-- JDee

Broken MDK Link

This link seems to be broken. Has anyone else faced this problem or knows a workaround link?
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/downloaditem?rid=/webcontent/uuid/bb59e758-0501-0010-ce8e-d8be0af8b87e [original link is broken]
This link is for the SAP Mobile Development Kit (MDK NW04 SPS19 and NW 7.0)
Thanks

Hi,
do you mean that this link itself is broken, or can you not download the MDK from that page?
If you have problems with the link - it works fine for me as well - are you logged on when you try to download the MDK? Sometimes it is not possible the access this page when you are not logged on to MDK.
Regards,
Oliver

Broken image links on APEX 3.0 in Oracle 10g XE? Here's the solution

You're on Oracle 10g XE and you've just upgraded your APEX from 2.0 to 3.0. You log into APEX Admin and there's tons of broken image links. You look into the Oracle documentation for APEX and it instructs you to copy the Images folder into your htmldb directory if you're using Oracle 10g standard, etc. But you're using Oracle 10g XE and there is no Images folder anywhere to be seen!
HERE'S THE SOLUTION:
http://daust.blogspot.com/2006/03/where-are-images-of-application.html
Excerpt from the website:
In OracleXE these resources (Images) are stored directly in the database, using the Oracle XMLDB feature. You can access the resources and modify them directly by using the WebDAV feature of the XMLDB.
(1) With Internet Explorer, just go to File > Open > http://127.0.0.1:8080/i (check "open as webfolder")
Then, copy the contents of your apex/images folder into this webfolder. It will take about 10 minutes. When it's done, refresh your Apex 3.0 website and lo and behold! Images! :)
Be sure to thank Dietmar Aust for his solution to this problem, provided on his website: http://daust.blogspot.com/2006/03/where-are-images-of-application.html

Another option: Try the Oracle Database XE and Application Express 3.0.1 install guide.
C.

Sibling Link Errors

i recently purchased the Mac Pro which i connected through ethernet to my older Power Mac G4 MDD Dual 1GHZ.
i discovered last week that my Mac Pro reported an error in Disk Utility "Invalid Sibling Link" and that app could not repair the problem. i purchased Disk Warrior 4.0 and installed OS X on another internal drive (i have four connected internally) and successfully repaired the disk. On a lark, i checked the Power Mac G4 and found that it also reported errors which could not be repaired by Disk Utility, but it did not report the "Invalid Sibling Link Error." Disk Warrior failed to repair the disk (and i am waiting for the CD to arrive in the mail to start up from it to try again, reporting that it encountered two overlapped filed on the disk).
This week i ran Disk Utility to find that again, my Mac Pro reported the "Invalid Sibling Link" error. i have searched the web and have a basic understanding of what the error is, and many people have experienced the problem. It appears that the error could lead to the start up disk failing to mount, etc. However, i have not experienced any problems with my drive that have been noticeable to me.
My question is what could be causing me to have this repeated error? Does this indicate an actual hard drive failure? Is there a Mac virus that could cause this? Could it be caused by transfering files over the network or through Apple Remote Desktop?
Any discussion on this would be helpful. Thanks folks.
MacPro Dual-Core 3 Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.9) ATi X1900 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 7300, 5GB RAM, 2.8TB, 20" DEll LCD, 2xViewSonic 17"

Which drive gets the error out of all installed, and
where is it located as far as file name etc. I'm
wondering if it could happen using an application
like FCP or CS2 running under Rosetta. Might want to
map it out and try and isolate it that way. I'd also
look for any hardware issues you can find for that
model of hard drive e.g. failures, etc. My two
cents.
Michael
It is the Startup Drive that gets the error on my Mac Pro (the preinstalled drive that came with the Mac), and the start up drive on the MDD G4. The MDD G4 had two files that were cross linked (a Civ file and an iTunes Temp file) that i had to manually delete before Disk Warrior could repair the drive. On the Mac Pro i have used Photoshop CS (1?) a little, but not to any large degree, other than that, i have used Apple's Pages, Safari, and Office... but nothing task intensive.
i ran Apple's Hardware test which appears to check RAM and the Logic Board and both checked out fine. i used both Disk Warrior and Drive Genius, both report that the S.M.A.R.T. status of the drive is verified and the drive is working properly.
i am curious if Apple Remote Desktop could cause the error? i frequently copy files from one computer to the other... but i can't fathom why or how this would be the case. But it has to be something, else why get this error twice in the space of a week?
i had not considered Tiger Cache Cleaner... i will check that out, but again, i don't know if this will tell me WHAT is going on and WHY it is happening.

Invalid sibling link?

Hi,
Today my macbook pro started powering down after hanging during the boot process. going to verbose mode, i noticed an "invalid sibling link" error during the drive check, just before the cpu halted. the hardware diagnostics say nothing's wrong with the hardware.
I tried booting into single user mode, and running fsck_hfs -r, but that gets to the same point and throws an error, and i still cant boot. i cant get an appointment with the apple store until monday, and i have school work to do. what can i do to address this problem?
oh, and i've tried booting to the install disk but for some reason that doesnt work. the drive spins up and then it goes to the gray apple screen, which hangs and then powers down.
suggestions?

+Invalid Sibling Link+ can usually be fixed by the following utility......
If Disk Utility can't fix it, you'll need a more robust utility for the repair. I would recommend DiskWarrior. It is the best at directory repairs. It rebuilds then actually replaces your old directory. I feel every Mac owner should have a copy. Make sure you get the disk so you can boot up on it to run repairs. You can also install it on another drive and run it from there to repair this one. DW works faster that way.
I use DW once a month to try and catch errors in my system from getting too far out of hand. It has repaired every little and big issue I have ever had with my three Macs.
If you have a good backup, hopefully a clone of your system before you had issues, an Erase and Install will also rid you of this issue. But, beware! You will lose everything on the drive with this procedure. Let us know if you need help with that!
Good Luck! DALE
p.s. Here's a rewiew of DiskWarrior 4.

Using Reference Mode and checking for broken alias links

I use iPhoto 09 in reference mode (where it doesn't import the pictures into the library). I'm aware of the pitfalls of doing this but, long story-short, it's better for my needs this way. I just wanted to know if there's a way to tell iPhoto to check for missing photos or broken alias links. It seems to just pop-up randomly some time after moving or deleting anything and I'd rather take care of business when it's convenient for me not for iPhoto. I don't move my pictures very often but when I do I want to be able to re-link them immediately and not wait for iPhoto to randomly ask me and then I don't know what album or date the picture is from that its asking me about. Thanks in advance!

I thought you were aware of the pitfalls of running a Referenced Library One of which is that if you move the files iPhoto will lose track of them.
Unfortunately, iPhoto has no mechanism for checking the integrity of the links - another reason I would not use iPhoto in Referenced Mode.
You could try use an app like [FileBuddy|http://www.skytag.com> to check and repair broken aliases. However, if you continue to manage your files without reference to iPhoto then you will continue to have problems.
Regards
TD

Broken External Links

HI,
I am a converted Frontpage user.
I use to use a utility in Frontpage that would check my site
for broken external links. I have found the check broken links but
it says "The only links that Dreamweaver verifies are links to
documents within the site; Dreamweaver compiles a list of external
links that appear in the selected document or documents, but does
not verify them."
How can I check for broken external links.
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Thank you will give it a try...

Recurring Invalid Sibling Link

Hey Everyone,
I've had my 12" powerbook for perhaps a year and a half now and hadn't had a problem with up until maybe just before christmas - the problem being an invalid sibling link in the file structure.
I did a lot of looking around the web about this and concluded the best solution would be to backup, wipe the drive and then move eveything back on. I did this (with great difficulty seeing as some files seem to give it a hard time accessing and it'll often just sit there clicking the hard disk in a very annoying and very regular fashion) and reinstalled Tiger. For a while everything seemed to be fine, but soon I noticed the drive doing it's weird unproductive clicking again (sort of like click click cliiiiiick) and it'll sometimes just lock up the system til it's through clicking (this happens when i'm trying to open a few apps at a time like safari, itunes and MSN).
I verified the disk back when i first noticed it clicking again and everything was fine - i did the same again last night and am told there's an invalid sibling link. Thing is, surely this shouldn't happen less than two months after I wiped the disk the first time? I sincerely hope this isn't a hardware problem though since it's happened again I'm kinda worried it might be. Another idea i was wondering about is, could it be due to corrupt files somewhere? I had particular trouble moving some files over to my firewire hard disk when i was backing up - could that cause problems like this?
I tried running fsck and it couldn't do anything because of the invalid link.
This is really irritating as I'm an English student and really rely on my powerbook for essays/research not to mention MSN, iMovie and Warcraft III!

AFAIK, neither MacJanitor nor Onyx could have caused the problem, they are just GUI wrappers for tools that are part of Mac OS X. And journaling should in theory prevent any damage to the filesystem caused by improperly shutting the system down.
As to your question "Is there any alternative to Diskwarrior/wiping the disk?" the answer is no, at least none that I know of. There are other utilities out there and you may want to consider them before deciding a purchase, but in the end you're going to do something like that.
This is not a data corruption problem with any of your files. The corruption is in the data that Mac OS X keeps internally about the structure of the filesystem and the physical location of the files on disk. The problem itself may end up causing file loss/corruption, but the other way around is unlikely IMHO.
Why this is happening to you repeatedly I don't know, but until you find it out (if ever), I think DiskWarrior is your best option because chances are that you're going to need it more than once. Moreover, you should really consider running DiskWarrior regularly until the cause of the problem is found. Otherwise you may end up losing and/or corrupting your own files as a result of the corruption in the filesystem.
Finally, about the start up in Safe Mode problem. Does it always happen, i.e. are you always unable to startup that way, or only on the first attempt, or what? Does it happen when you start up from the internal disk only, or also when starting up from the external disk? If the internal only, did it also happen when Disk Utility reported no problems on that disk?
One of the things starting up in Safe Mode does is automatically checking the filesystem on the startup volume, so it should come as no surprise that it fails in your case. And yes, you should be worried about it, but probably no more that you are by the invalid sibling link problem, as they both are likely the same problem.
iMac G5 17" (iSight) Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Macbook not starting up - Invalid Sibling Link

Hi,
I have a Macbook Pro 13 inch (Early 2011). It refuses to start up anymore. I have done the following tests/checks
1. Try booting into safe mode. It gets stuck there as well.
2. Boot into single-user mode and run fsck. It get a "Could not repair Macinotish HD" (or something similar, I ran this a long time ago and am recalling what it said)
3. Booted using the OS X Install Disk, and ran Disk Utility. Tried repairing and got
Invalid sibling link
Rebuilding catalog B-tree
The volume Macintosh HD could be repaired
Volume repair complete.
Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
Error: Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restor your backed-up files.
4. I also ran fsck_hfs -r as some sites suggested, but this didn't work either.
I believe this is not a hard disk fault, since I can boot into my Windows partition without issue.
Is there any way to fix this problem WITHOUT having to reinstall the OS?
In cases reinstallation is the only option, how do I go about backing my data? Should I create a New Image (using Disk Utility) and back up everything on an external HD? Won't this also image the corrupted part?
Here's my problem with reinstalling the OS. I have a software that I have absolutely have to use in 3 days. However, I do not have access to the installation disks for that software. Thus, I would really not like formatting my HD. If I back up my data using the New image feature above, can I retrieve that software?
BTW, I also have access to another Windows laptop, if that will help at all.
This is a time urgent matter and I would be grateful if I get a reply asap. I really need my laptop to work. Thanks a lot!

Invalid Sibling Link > Invalid Sibling Link: Apple Support Communities
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Broken Sibling Link?

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